


Purple Haired Craze

by LeoraPhthalo



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Rewrite, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23481058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoraPhthalo/pseuds/LeoraPhthalo
Summary: Valkyrie is taken back to the late 1600s by a purple time traveller. This girl seems to be the only one who knows of Valkyrie's importance in the fight against Mevolent and his forces.THIS IS A REWRITE OF MY ORIGINAL SP FIC OF THE SAME NAME!
Relationships: Valkyrie Cain/Skulduggery Pleasant
Comments: 30
Kudos: 39





	1. In Which Valkyrie Discovers a New Discipline

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo...
> 
> It's been a while...
> 
> If anyone remembers the original version of this story, I have a little personal update at the end of this chapter. Otherwise, please enjoy this rewrite!

Valkyrie Cain had been lying on the four-poster in her bedroom at Grimwood House when she was disturbed by a stranger.

She was two hours into the first day of her week off. Valkyrie never really used her privilege as co-leader of the Arbiter Corps to take time off whenever she wanted (unless, of course, an apocalypse was imminent). The Arbiter Corps had grown since Skulduggery Pleasant had re-established them; it was still small, but it was elite and Valkyrie trusted all of them to be doing their jobs well.

It still hadn’t improved her ability to actually take a break though; it was Skulduggery who forced her hand, telling her she wasn’t looking her best and she was throwing off his “elegant vibes” as he put it. She told him he wasn’t allowed to use the word “vibes” because he was more than four hundred and fifty years old. He retaliated by putting her on mandatory leave and said if so much as saw her attempting to try and fight someone for the next week, he would put her on indefinite leave.

He must have been serious to threaten her like that, and she hadn’t been happy about it. But then again, it had been a busy few weeks and she was also relieved to have the break, not that she was going to admit that to Skulduggery. She wasn’t planning to do much at all, except for maybe dropping over to visit her parents, have Alice come over. It wasn’t like she had an array of hobbies to fall back on when she wasn’t working; her hobby was fighting people who annoyed her, but Skulduggery had vetoed that one.

* * *

Initially, she had assumed that the footsteps belonged to Skulduggery. He had a habit of dropping by without warning and no one else ever came by the mansion; it was too set back from the main road for people to stumble across. But, after a moment’s thought, she realised it couldn’t be Skulduggery. She hadn’t heard the familiar purr of the Bentley that she would usually hear when he pulled up in the driveway and the footsteps were too light and dissimilar to his familiar gait.

Valkyrie sat up sharply.

The footsteps continued to approach her door. She formed a ball of energy in her hand and moved to crouch defensively on her bed, making no sound as she did so.

The door creaked open.

Valkyrie leapt off the bed with a yell, the springs propelling her towards the figure in the doorway. The figure shrieked as they crashed to the ground together. She recovered quickly, pinning the stranger down, the energy in her hands lighting up their face. Wide eyes met hers, the fear evident.

“Please don’t hurt me, I don’t mean any harm!” the girl squealed. 

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Val growled.

“My name is Livena Estrange. I am here to help you.”

Valkyrie didn’t let her up. “In what world does breaking into someone’s house in the middle of the night help anyone?”

“Alright, so that was a bad idea, but this was the only time I could speak to you without the skeleton dude being around as well.”

Valkyrie frowned. “Skulduggery is not always with me.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “I have spent way too long trying to catch you at a time when he is not hanging around. Don’t give me that bullshit. Now, let me up.”

“How do I know you aren’t out to kill me?”

“How many people are realistically out to kill you?”

“Quite a lot still, unsurprisingly.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I have reasons to be wary about random intruders. I’m surprised you don’t know that seeing as you have apparently been stalking me, which is also a big red flag by the way.”

“Fair enough, I can explain from here anyway.” She took a deep breath. “I need to take you back in time because your involvement in the fight against Mevolent is crucial.”

“What?” Valkyrie’s grip on her eased a little. “What the hell do you mean?”

“I have to take you back in time to help the resistance fight Mevolent’s forces.”

“But why?”

“I can't actually give you any more information. I'm really sorry about all this.”

Suddenly, Valkyrie was no longer crouching on wooden floorboards, but falling, Livena directly below her. They hit the softly ploughed ground a few metres below, Valkyrie narrowly missing falling on the girl beneath her.

She staggered up, moving away from the girl, wildly taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. The moon was full and high in the sky, illuminating everything. “Where the fuck am I?” she demanded.

“Same place, just a few years before your uncle’s mansion existed.” She wheezed, winded from the fall.

“What? But the house is hundreds of years old?”

Livena pulled herself up. “Welcome to 1670. The War is in full swing and Mevolent is becoming ever more powerful. I am to take you to the base camp to help fight against his forces.”

But why do they need me?” Valkyrie asked. She was feeling increasingly more confused with the whole situation. She turned to properly look at the girl and was taken aback. The girl, Val realised, was completely purple, from her pretty violet irises to her indigo complexion.

Livena pulled her lilac hair out of the untidy plait it had been in and began to redo it with quick fingers. “Your purpose will become clear and even if you don’t understand it yet, that is of no concern in the long run. You just have to be here and help out the resistance and trust me that it will all work out in the end.”

A younger Valkyrie would have probably protested more. As it was, she wasn’t happy with the situation; who would be? Her life that she had finally grown content with had suddenly been uprooted and there was no way back without cooperating with this purple woman. Valkyrie had never met another time shunter and she doubted it was a very common ability. She knew she needed to stay on this woman’s good side if she ever wanted a chance of returning to her own time.


	2. Which Involves a Lot of Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahoy there! Here comes an update. I promise the story will start to pick up real soon. Please enjoy!

“I probably should have shunted us closer to Roarhaven,” Livena muttered, more to herself.

Valkyrie frowned. “You could shunt us back if you don’t want to be walking for a day.” They had already been walking for hours. It wasn’t like Val didn’t have the stamina, but it was meant to be her week off. She walked because she had to, not because she enjoyed it as a pastime.

“What, and have you run away from me almost immediately? I know you can easily overpower me if I took you back.”

“Well, don’t blame me for trying.”

Livena turned around, frustration evident on her face. “Look, I understand that you are incredibly confused and frustrated about this whole situation. I would be too. But, it is vitally important that you are here, at this time. If you aren’t here, Mevolent will prevail and the future you live in as you know it will never come to fruition.”

Valkyrie gave her an incredulous look. “What exactly are you expecting me to do? Okay, so we are on our way to Roarhaven, we get to the camp looking bedraggled and then we need to come up with some excuse as to how we appeared out of thin air and why we suddenly want to join their cause. There are no records of my existence, nor yours for that matter, and I know full well that Mevolent is beaten long after the death of Skulduggery Pleasant, which is years from now as it is. This is still the early stages of the war, for god sake!” She paused to take a breath. “Are you talking about some weird butterfly effect or something, because I do not believe in that sort of shit. Surely, without me, Mevolent would be defeated. There is always another way!”

Livena was shaking her head. “Not this time. Believe me, I tried. I’ve been looking for years for a solution where you wouldn’t need to live in this time period, but every time, it fails. My sister is a dimension shunter and we have looked in all time periods across all the different realities. But, the key is you.”

“But how can I help if I don’t even know how I meant to help?”

“It should all fall into place. And if it doesn’t, I’ll be here to nudge things into place. I’ll be here to help, every step of the way.”

“Please tell me I’m not going to be stuck here forever.”

“I promise, on my life, that I will bring you back the second you have completed your role here.”

Valkyrie sighed. “I feel like a pawn.”

“Well, that’s because you are. Do you want your reality to lose to Mevolent?”

“I guess not.”

“Well, come on then. Roarhaven is not getting any closer. If we are lucky, we can hitch a ride.” The purple girl skipped ahead, leaving Valkyrie trailing behind, her mind whirring.

* * *

A few hours later, as the light of dawn was beginning to appear in the sky, Livena stopped and set down her bag. Valkyrie drew close.

“What’s up?”

“Clothing,” Livena said, pulling out a bundle of brown fabric. “We need to look like 17th Century mortals.”

Valkyrie looked at the bundle indignantly. “Its autumn. We are gonna freeze in these.”

Livena shrugged. “You can wear some of your clothes underneath, as long as they can’t be seen. You aren’t exactly wearing time typical clothes.”

Val inspected the clothes. It comprised of a long dress, long enough to cover her protective trousers, but not exactly practical. It came with a brown shawl and a bonnet to Valkyrie’s indignation. The style was too close fitting to be able to wear her protective jacket underneath, somewhat disconcerting considering all her vital organs sat in her torso, not her legs. She relied an awful lot on her clothing bearing the brunt of most attacks she faced; she only really needed to pay attention to her head.

“Please tell me I’m going to get some protective clothing if I’m going to be here for a while,” she said as she begrudgingly pulled on the dress.

“We can arrange that,” Livena said, pulling on an almost identical outfit. “Ghastly Bespoke and his family are around, although I can’t say the clothing they make is anything near as good as 2010 Bespoke.” She quickly wrapped her plait around into a tight bun and pulled her own bonnet on. If she hadn’t been bright purple, she would have blended right in. As it was, most of the lilac curls were hidden under the white bonnet, and her complexion wasn’t aggressively purple in the dull light of the morning.

“What are you going to do about…” Valkyrie trailed off. Skulduggery was particularly relaxed about the fact that he was dead, considering he had 300 years to get used to it. She didn’t know how sensitive Livena was about her complexion and she wasn’t about to actively piss her off at this point.

“I have a facade,” she said, nonchalantly. She didn’t seem fazed at all by the query. Sure enough, she slid a finger behind her ear and her complexion shifted to a soft tan. “Come on, let's do your hair. You can’t gad about with your hair down. I’m amazed that it doesn’t get in your way when you are fighting people.”

“I like it down though,” she complained, but turned to let Livena faff with her hair. “And, for your information, I do put it back when I need to fight.”

“Well, what if you are caught off guard?”

“I cope.”

“Oh well, you’ll need to get used to putting your hair into a bun at least.”

“Must I?”

“I mean, there are very few other hairstyles considered appropriate for this period that aren’t stupidly complex. The bun is a classic and works for a lot of time periods. But you can’t leave it down anymore. You aren’t a child.”

Valkyrie stifled a groan of annoyance. She felt the final few tugs on her hair and then her periphery was suddenly obstructed by white frill. “Is the bonnet really necessary?”

“I know this one is ugly, but we will get you into something more fashionable as soon as we get to Roarhaven.”

“Good. I’m not putting up with this look for long.”

“You look the part at least,” Livena said, tying the bonnet with a careful bow. “Let’s keep moving.”

It was odd walking around enclosed in the bonnet. It felt too vulnerable for Valkyrie, as she kept turning her head to assess her surroundings. At around midday, they came across a small village, and Livena haggled with a farmer for a ride east, towards Roarhaven.

“It won’t get us all the way to Roarhaven, but at least we can rest for a while,” she explained to Valkyrie as they settled themselves in the back of the cart.

“Do you at least know how far away Roarhaven is from here.”

“Hopefully, we will get there by nightfall.” Livena rummaged around in the bag and pulled out two sandwiches from the depths. The cart gave a lurch as it set off down the bumpy road. “Might as well have lunch.”

It was dry, but Valkyrie wasn’t about to complain. She hadn’t eaten since the night before and her stomach had already been growling at her for several hours. She inhaled the flavourless meal before lying herself back in the cart to rest. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to Livena and exhaustion was beginning to set in.


	3. In Which the Future is Discussed and Free Will is Questioned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry this should have been posted yesterday but I got caught up doing some stuff around the house. Hope this chapter is an interesting one and the pace of the story is beginning to pick up a bit. I'm always worried that I drag my heels a bit when it comes to revealing information. Please enjoy :)

“Hey.”

Valkyrie jolted awake. “Wuh?”

Livena jumped down from the back of the now stationary cart. “We’re nearly there. It’s a twenty-minute walk that way.”

Valkyrie rolled herself off the cart, still sleepy. “What time is it.”

“Late afternoon. The sun is about to go down.”

“Right.”

She hadn’t been wrong. Roarhaven was a lot smaller at this time, just a cluster of buildings, surrounded by tents. They obviously weren’t used to people stumbling across the place. Everyone stopped to stare as they passed by as if they were a threat. Livena looped her arm around Valkyrie’s. She fought the urge to tear herself away from the purple girl, knowing it would just draw even more attention. They moved toward the main building, trying to stay as non-threatening as possible so as not to scare the people into attacking them.

Suddenly, their path was blocked by a tall mage. “What business do you have here?”

“Good evening, sir. My name is Livena Estrange and this is my cousin, Valkyrie Cain. We would like to offer our services to the Resistance.”

The tall mage relaxed. “Good evening, ladies. My name is Dr Octavius Noone. We welcome any aid you can provide. Although, we cannot take you on without the approval of the Dead Men.”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened. It hadn’t quite crossed her mind that Skulduggery Pleasant also existed at this time.

“I assume they are your leaders, Dr Noone?”

“Skulduggery Pleasant is the de facto leader of the Resistance,” Dr Noone said. “The Dead Men at his side are his advisors. He organises the attacks against Mevolent and his forces. Come.” The mage gestured to a large tent. “We shall feed you. Then you can meet the Dead Men.”

The formality of it all surprised Valkyrie, but Livena appeared at ease. Valkyrie was used to being more direct in her language, whereas the mage guiding them was clearly far more reserved and flowery as if he were afraid of offending them, but also didn’t want to be overly familiar. He was clearly a gentle person and kind natured, but Valkyrie guessed his uptight manner was more likely due to the era. She didn’t feel like speaking much in case she put her foot in her mouth doing so.

The tent appeared to be a communal area for the Resistance. Food was readily available and there was a fire to provide heat. People sat around, chatting and eating.

“This tent provides for anyone who is without a home here in Roarhaven,” Dr Noone explained. “Many people have joined us, but we don’t have enough housing to provide for everyone. Most people are in tents, so this place provides some warmth and a place to chat with friends.”

“Sensible. No one wants to lose men due to low morale,” Livena commented.

“Please, help yourself to food. I will come and find you both as soon as the Dead Men return from their mission.” Dr Noone politely, bowing slightly as he left.

“Are you okay,” Livena asked as they walked over to collect some food.

“Fuck no!” Valkyrie barely managed to whisper. “Everything is weird and too polite and I don’t know what to say.”

“You are doing fine so far. Leave the talking to me for now, and I’ll try and get you up to speed with the etiquette soon. It’s not too hard, just be polite and don’t say anything blasphemous or sexual, particularly not in front of the mortals and particularly not in front of the rural folk.”

“What can I say instead of swearing profusely then?”

“Goodness gracious me is pretty inoffensive.”

“I am not saying that, for gods sake.”

“You really should avoid using the word God in any other manner other than praising Him.”

“You say it like you believe.” They both walked over to a secluded corner of the tent and sat down to eat.

“Well, in this era, many mages are also Catholic. They are less concerned about these things in general, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start building some good habits. You will be here a while.”

Valkyrie frowned. “So, when you say a while, do you mean like a few months or years or what?”

“Not my place to say.”

“Fuck that!”

“Language!” Livena stared down the furious glare Valkyrie gave her. “I’m sorry, my hands are tied here. If I give you too much information, this whole endeavour might just go tits up.”

“Ha, why do you get to swear?”

“I mean it!” Livena’s face was deadly serious. “If I give you any more information than I already have, you are going to start making the wrong choices. A deviation from the timeline here and there is not the end of the world, most wobbles seem to sort themselves out, but go too far, and we will end up in the wrong reality.”

“What on earth do you mean?” A headache was starting to build from Valkyrie’s temple and it wasn’t really helping things.

“Okay, you watched Back to the Future, right?”

“Of course.”

“So, Marty goes back in time and causes a seemingly massive disturbance in the timeline. He meets his mother the way his father should have met her. Right? Now, in the film, they get a chance to fix all this, but it still caused some changes. The dad gains confidence and Biff becomes scared of him.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Now, in the long run, Marty existing or not probably doesn’t make that big a difference in terms of big world issues. He is not on track to invent something revolutionary. Nor is his dad becoming confident cause a significant difference for the timeline. I would call this sort of event a deviation. It's not really going to change much, but it is still something different from expected.”

“So, me being here is a deviation of sorts.”

“Not quite. You being brought here is a bigger event because you seem to be this weird key for the downfall of Mevolent. But the things you do here are likely to be deviations. For example, from my investigations, I will expect you to make certain choices because you have a certain pattern of behaviours that indicate what choice you are likely to make. But, you also have your own mind and feelings and you might make a slightly different choice than my prediction. Still with me?”

“Yeah.”

“That sort of event will be a deviation. Ultimately, the choice would be such a small thing that it wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things whether you brush your hair one day or not the next. The timeline will correct itself back to the one we are currently on.”

“So I have no control over what will happen. Why not just tell me outright and I’ll do what I need to do.”

“Unfortunately, if I told you what your future is, based on the timeline we are currently walking along, that would most likely cause a major event and we would fall from this timeline to a much darker one. Believe me, this timeline is not rainbows and sunshine. But it is one of the rare few where Mevolent dies and doesn’t bring the whole world down with him. Plus you do have a choice.”

“What choice do I have?” Valkyrie said. “I’m stuck here indefinitely until I fulfil some sort of quota or something and then I get to go home and, what, pretend this never happened?”

“You have some level of choice in all this. Whilst I might be able to predict or even know most of your actions, it doesn’t mean they aren’t your actions to take. I won’t ever come between you and a choice you make because I know you make the right ones. I’m only really here to be your friend and support you through all this and I’ll leave if you don’t want my help.”

Valkyrie felt like crying. Livena sounded so sincere that she was sure she was genuinely upset about the whole situation, but it didn’t stop Valkyrie from feeling so alone. She missed her friends, her family, her little life she had made for herself. “I want your help,” she whimpered after a moment.

“Then I’ll stay. I’ll have your back, I promise you. Although,” Livena gave her a grin, “you might need to train me a bit in combat if you want me to be useful.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” said Valkyrie. “Maybe we’ll even become friends.”

“Excuse me, ladies.”

They both turned to see Dr Noone stood behind them. “Oh, hello again,” Livena smiled.

He didn’t return the smile. “The Dead Men have returned. They are waiting to meet you both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter will be due next weekend!  
> -Leo


	4. In Which The Dead Men meet Valkyrie and Mr Pleasant Has His Suspicions

Valkyrie wasn’t really sure what to expect. Dr Noone led the pair of them out of the communal tent towards a nearby shabby looking building, walking briskly. She didn’t have time to prepare herself for what was to come. What was she going to say to the Dead Men? What was she going to say to Skulduggery?”

Livena looped her arm through hers again. This time, the urge to yank herself away felt less overwhelming, and a small part of Valkyrie was grateful to have this random girl supporting her. They certainly weren’t friends yet, but she decided she would make the effort to get to know her. Maybe they had more in common than Valkyrie was expecting.

The doctor invited them inside the house, which was less grubby inside than Valkyrie was expecting. They approached a closed door, and Dr Noone knocked.

“Come in.” The velvet voice was unmistakable, even through the wooden door.

Dr Noone opened the door and bade them inside. “Skulduggery Pleasant, Dead Men, please let me introduce Miss Livena Estrange and Valkyrie Cain.”

It was like a punch in the gut for Valkyrie seeing the traitor again. Erskine Ravel and his golden eyes stood in a far corner. His demeanour had always been friendly, but his betrayal was still raw. Despite the events of Devastation Day being decades ago now for Valkyrie, the hatred she had for Ravel was still very present. It felt worse, seeing him stood amongst those she had grieved for, whose deaths he had caused.

Ghastly Bespoke, Anton Shudder and Saracen Rue flanked the table, along with Dexter Vex. She fought down the urge to hug them close. Another man stood in the opposing corner. It was either Hopeless or Larrikin, but Valkyrie wasn’t sure which and she didn’t have the mental capacity to pay him much heed. Finally, she turned her attention to the tall, slender man who stood before them. She knew who he was, although he was very notably _not_ a skeleton.

Skulduggery Pleasant in the flesh stood before her. “Good evening ladies,” he said, with his smooth voice. “My name is Skulduggery Pleasant.” He had a full head of red, curly hair, freckled skin and bright green eyes that eyed them with mild suspicion, but he disguised his wariness with his impeccable manners. “I appreciate that you have come a long way to join the Resistance. What sort of help do you think you can provide?”

Valkyrie was still somewhat shellshocked at the sight of him. He did not look anything like she had expected. Actually, she wasn’t sure was she had been expecting; she had known him such a long time as a skeleton that hearing his voice coming from a living being was freaking her out a little. Once again, Livena drew attention away from her, letting Valkyrie have a second to collect herself.

“Mr Pleasant, it is an honour to meet you and your Dead Men. We had heard about the Resistance in the south years ago, but my cousin Valkyrie and I only had the chance to bring ourselves here recently. In terms of our services, I am proficient in Symbol Magic, although I must admit, I’m not the most skilled at combat. I can use a bow and arrow with some skill as well. Valkyrie, though, will likely be more useful. She is highly skilled in combat and is an energy thrower of sorts.”

Skulduggery raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in a way that Valkyrie knew he was feeling sceptical. “Of sorts?”

“Yes,” Valkyrie finally spoke, her voice steady despite everything. “It’s not quite the same as energy throwing, more like throwing lightning. But I’ve never got the hang of traditional energy throwing. This came naturally to me.” She wasn’t sure how passable a lie that was, but she figured that new magic types appeared all the time, and if Serpine had his weird hand that killed people through some weirdly specific necromancy power, then she figured lightning style energy throwing couldn’t be too far fetched. As long as she didn’t outwardly use her other powers, she would be fine.

“How unusual,” Dexter commented, looking genuinely interested.

“Energy throwing is certainly a useful skill to add to our cause,” Skulduggery said, not looking like he fully believed Valkyrie, but didn’t press for more details. “Symbol magic will also greatly help us. We don’t have many people who can use it with proficiency and we’ve been wanting to reinforce the base camp with more protection sigils.”

“Miss Cain’s combat skills will undoubtedly come in handy,” Saracen said.

Skulduggery’s face remained impassive. “I need to gauge your proficiency myself if you want to get sent on any away missions,” he said. “I don’t want to unnecessarily risk lives because of lack of training.”

Valkyrie frowned. “That’s fair,” she admitted, begrudgingly. She didn’t like having to prove herself. In her time, she was well known and nobody questioned her control and skill when it came to her magic and her combat. Worse still, this was Skulduggery doubting her. She tried her best not to let the hurt show.

“Do you mind us asking where we could find more suitable clothing?” Livena asked. “The stuff we have at the moment is not particularly practical or protective.”

“You are welcome to come by my home,” Ghastly spoke. “My father and I make protective clothing for anyone who joins the Resistance with no cost. However, if you wish for some personal clothing that isn’t for combat, it will come at a price.”

“That is very generous. May we come by tomorrow to be fitted?”

“Of course.”

Valkyrie felt a headache coming on. The whole situation was making her feel awash with conflicting emotions and trying to stay impassive, like she didn’t have a personal connection with nearly all of them, was not helping.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen,” she finally managed to blurt out as eloquently as she could. “My cousin and I have had a long day and we would like to rest.”

“Of course,” Ghastly said. “My family have a boarding house. Most of the men camp out, but we have some rooms spare that would probably be preferable for two fine ladies, such as yourselves.”

“You are most kind,” Livena said.

“I shall lead the way then.”

“Ghastly, we have a meeting to finish,” Skulduggery said, frowning.

“I cannot leave them waiting in the corridor for us to finish our meeting, Skulduggery,” said Ghastly. “They are tired enough as it is. Continue the meeting and I will be back shortly.”

Skulduggery frowned, looking like he was about to argue back, but Dexter drew his attention back to the plans on the table and the discussion was set aside. Ghastly, rolling his eyes, ushered them back out.

“I would like to apologise for Skulduggery’s behaviour,” he said, as he led them out the building into the cool evening air. “He isn’t used to dealing with new recruits. That’s usually left to me, or Dexter or Saracen. He didn’t even give us a chance to introduce ourselves.” He chuckled. “My name is Ghastly Bespoke. I’ll leave it to the others to introduce themselves properly tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, thank you Mr Bespoke,” Livena said with a smile.

“Why is Skul— I mean Mr Pleasant, somewhat… oh, how do I put this,” Valkyrie wondered aloud.

“You mean, abrasive?” Ghastly said with a laugh.

“I mean…” she didn’t really know what to say.

“Don’t worry, he isn’t the easiest person to get along with, shall we say. I’ve known him for a long time already and he has always been very direct. But, he is particularly disinterested in anything that isn’t something that directly benefits the Resistance in a way he can quantify. So, being polite and helping you ladies feel settled is not at the forefront of his mind.”

“I see.”

“He is a good leader, but in terms of managing the members of the Resistance with more day to day concerns, that has never been a strength of his. He leaves that to me or Dex. Sometimes Saracen.” He paused to open the door of the only stone building in the area. “Welcome to my home. My mother will assist you from here.” Ghastly gestured to the door where a stocky woman appeared.

She smiled. “Ghastly dear, do introduce me before you vanish away.”

“Oh yes. Miss Livena Estrange, Miss Valkyrie Cain, this is my mother, Ms Anastasia Ragnhailt. Now, I really should go back to the meeting before Skulduggery sends someone looking for me.” He bowed politely and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all!  
> I'm trying my best to stick to posting once a week as a schedule, and I'm loving all your wonderful comments! Thank you all so much xx Please continue to let me know what you think and if I make any mistakes, please let me know :)  
> I'm trying my best to align my story with the events of the Skulduggery Pleasant series so far, but since the release of the latest book, I'm already failing somewhat XD But that's okay! It's a really long series with a lot of lore to it. I'm planning on re-reading the series because after reading Seasons of War, I got very lost and the plot is harder to follow, particularly with the vast amount of characters that Landy follows throughout the series.  
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you next week with the next update :)


	5. Which Involves Two Boxers and Two Tailors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologise for late posting. Uni work had to be prioritised sadly. The chapter isn't the best as I've not be able to sit on it for like a day and then edit any inconsistencies. I'll probably review it soon and correct any mistakes I pick up on.
> 
> Hopefully I'll give myself a bit more time for the following chapter and there should be less character introductions (thank god Ghastly is the only one with any known magical family). MORE PLOT next weekend :)  
> Enjoy  
> ~Leo

Anastasia Ragnhailt was both exactly what Valkyrie expected and also not at all. She was practical minded, getting the girls settled in a cosy room quickly, pointing out all the important rooms in case they needed something. She had a gentle air about her, nothing about her manner suggesting her underlying power that Valkyrie knew she had. Valkyrie was also faced with the somewhat disconcerting fact that she looked the same age as she did, but Anastasia had a grown up son and Valkyrie was only just turning 50. She was muscled, as one would expect from a boxer, but she was shorter than Valkyrie by about a foot. Valkyrie knew she was tall for a woman, almost standing at 6ft, but she was expecting a more authoritative personality.

She didn’t need to wait long to see the other side to Anastasia. The next morning, they had found her practicing boxing in front of the house with Ghastly. Valkyrie watched in awe; Ghastly, although good, was significantly outclassed.

“I can see where she gets her reputation,” Livena commented.

She gave one last hook to her son’s jaw, which knocked him sprawling to the ground before turning to greet the two girls with a beaming smile. “Good morning, ladies! Hope you both slept well.”

“Yes, thank you Ms Ragnhailt.”

“Oh, do call me Ana.”

“Then you may call me Liv.”

“My husband is probably in his sewing room if you want a set of combat clothes fitted,” said Ana. She nudged Ghastly with the toe of her boot, causing him to grunt. “Get yourself up, dear, and go help your father with their new outfits.”

“Hurt.”

“That was a gentle punch!”

“We seem to have different definitions of ‘gentle’.”

"Maybe so,” she smiled fondly at Ghastly, who was slowly beginning to pick himself off the floor. “I’ll get you all some food from the communal tent so you don’t miss breakfast.”

“Thank you, Ana!”

“Thank you, mum.”

“Thank you.”

Ghastly had finally picked himself off the floor and, with a sheepish grin, bade the girl back inside. “Hope you are well this morning ladies.”

“Oh yes, we slept well, didn’t we Val?”

Valkyrie hadn’t slept amazingly, but that wasn’t unusual. But, the bed had been comfortable and she was able to sit in peace. “It’s a comfortable room, thank you.”

“That’s good. My father works in this back room. It shouldn’t take us long to get you fitted in something more protective.”

He lead them into a large room that was filled to the brim with bolts of fabric organised by colour and a number of dress forms with half finished outfits hanging from them. A tall man, who once again looked barely a day older than 25, sat near the window, the light illuminating the brightly coloured cloth that he was currently working on.

“Dad, we have some new guests.”

The man paused what he was doing with care and stood to greet them with a gentle smile. “Introduce me then, Ghastly.”

“Miss Livena Estrange, Miss Valkyrie Cain, this is my father, Colm Darning.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“We were hoping you could make us some combat clothing for us, Mr Darning,” said Valkyrie.

“Colm, please. Of course, Miss Cain. Let’s get your measurements.”

Everything about Colm Darning was relaxed and calm. He presence was soothing which projected tranquility across the whole room.

The Ghastly of the future had been able to just look and he could gauge anyone’s fit to such precision that Valkyrie disliked having to wear her mortal clothes because they just didn’t sit right. At this time, though, the pair still relied on knotted string to take their measurements. They were quick at their work and in less than ten minutes, Ghastly and Colm had adjusted the dress forms to Livena and Valkyrie’s measurements and were already cutting away at some leathery looking material.

“What sort of fabric do you use, Colm?” asked Valkyrie, interested in the difference between her original Bespoke clothes and what the pair were producing here.

“It’s reinforced leather. There are a few sigils that I have created to give the wearer extra protection, which I adorn into each piece of clothing. The leather outerwear I tend to reinforce with sigils that help absorb the shock of a blow, and cut resistance.” He picked up a piece of the leather, pinning it to the dress from carefully. “But I can’t put too much magic into one article of clothing.”

“How so?”

“It would just fall apart otherwise. I tend to add additional protection into the under layers if required. But usually, the shock absorption and cut resistance is enough.”

The sound of the door opening made her look up. Valkyrie had been expecting the smiling face of Ana, Instead a tall figure filled the frame, an impassive look on his face.

“Mr Pleasant,” she managed to say before she ran out of words. His expression didn’t change; he was almost more unreadable with a face than as a skeleton. Did he hate them? Did he just not care? She couldn’t tell. The tranquil atmosphere was completely obliterated for Valkyrie with Skulduggery’s sudden appearance and she had to fight the urge to flee the room.

“Miss Cain, Miss Estrange. Glad to see you have settled in.” He gave them a respectful nod, but then he abruptly turned his attention to Ghastly and Colm before either of the girls could respond. “I’m in need of a new shirt. I’m afraid the last one got somewhat shredded in the last mission.”

“Oh yes,” said Ghastly. “We’ll have one ready this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” and he was gone almost as suddenly as he had appeared.

“A man of few words,” said Colm with a quiet chuckle.

Ana appeared not long after with porridge, inviting the girls into the dining room to eat. Valkyrie ate slowly whilst Livena made conversation with Ana. She paid them little attention, her mind thinking about the human Skulduggery. He was certainly a far cry from the suave skeleton that she knew, but this was a Skulduggery from _before_ the death of his family, before his own death. She knew he had gone insane when he had returned from the grave, a completely reasonable reaction to all he had suffered in her opinion. This Skulduggery seemed different again, serious and unconcerned about the affairs of anything that didn’t entail a mission or the Resistance in general. He was the closest thing in this time to her reality, but he was a different man. She wanted nothing more than to befriend him again, but she wasn’t a naive twelve year old, and he wasn’t a snarky four hundred year old skeleton.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all!
> 
> So I have been thinking about this story for a while now. I originally started this project at the age of 16 and I couldn't believe how big it got, particularly over on FF.net. It remains one of the most commented fics in the SP fandom over there.
> 
> Looking back on it at 21, it seems a little childish, and I kept getting sidetracked by the teen romance and highschool setting. I never really got to the heart of the story and the angst that was needed to progress it.
> 
> So, now that we are onto book 12 of Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant's story, I thought I would give my original tale a revamp, removing the highschool veneer because it was dragging the story. That's not to say I'm knocking my old writing, but I wrote just over 40,000 words and I hadn't even escaped the beginning of my story.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy and I hope I get to finish this project.
> 
> See y'all soon.  
> ~Leo


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